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The Handmaiden (2016)
Considering Park Chan-Wook made his bones on one of this century’s least funny movies (Old Boy), it’s ironic that the Korean directing icon’s past 10 years are defined by thrillers that smuggle in humor at every turn.
None more so than The Handmaiden—the saga of two Korean con artists (Kim Tae-ri and Ha Jung-woo) attempting to ingratiate themselves into the bed and bank account of a haunted, reclusive heiress (Kim Min-hee).
Set up as a near-Gothic period piece, The Handmaiden manages to keep the audience on a string while also employing Park’s favorite tension-busting trick: infallible characters making an unbelievable mess.
Sook-hee (Kim Tae-ri) hasn’t been in her handmaiden role one night before she’s rummaging through her lady’s hatboxes and loudly dropping sex toys on the floor. And in one of the movie’s most pivotal scenes—in which a character hanging from a noose confesses their intentions—another character thoughtlessly drops them in a moment of comedic strangulation.
That’s not to say Park’s knotty erotic epic is all fun and games. It’s just more fun than any film this romantic, violent, tortured and dark has any right to be. Clinton, June 25.
Also Playing:
Academy: Barry Lyndon (1975), FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992) and Funeral Parade of Roses (1969), June 24 and 25. 12 Angry Men (1957), I Drink Your Blood (1971) and Nowhere (1997), June 26—July 2. Cinema 21: Wings of Desire (1987), June 27. Cinemagic: Boyz n the Hood (1991), June 24 and 25. Persona (1966), June 25. South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999) and Ebola Syndrome (1996), June 26. Black Past (1989), Run Lola Run (1998) and Black Dynamite (2009), June 27. 964 Pinocchio (1991), June 28. Paths of Glory (1957), June 28 and 30. Clinton: Anita: Dances of Vice (1987), June 24. Sleepaway Camp (1983), June 26. But I’m a Cheerleader (1999), June 27. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), June 27. Happy Together (1997), June 30. Cult Classics: A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985), June 28. Hollywood: A Simple Plan (1998), June 24. The Omen (1976), June 25. Scream (1996), June 26. Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), June 27. Lost Highway (1997), June 27. RRR (2022) and The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953), June 28. Creepshow (1982), June 30. Moreland: Cruising (1980), June 26. The Great Muppet Caper (1981), June 29. Tomorrow: Parasite (2019), June 25. Sense and Sensibility (1995), June 28.
